A lintel is the beam over a window or door that carries the wall above it. When one fails, the usual signs are cracks above the opening, sagging brickwork or a window that suddenly sticks. In 2026, replacing a failed lintel typically costs £750–£2,500 for an ordinary window or door opening, with wide openings, bays and garage doors running from £1,800 to £3,500 or more. The lintel itself is the cheap part, at roughly £50–£300. You are paying for propping the wall, a day or two of skilled labour, and making good the brickwork afterwards.
Prices depend heavily on access. A ground-floor window is a different job from a first-floor one that needs scaffolding, and a Victorian brick arch hiding a rotted timber beam is a different job again. The quotes in the sources below run from under £1,000 to over £3,500 for what sounds like the same repair, so the opening, the wall and the access decide the price.
I diagnose buildings for a living; I don’t install or replace lintels, so I have no stake in whether the job goes ahead. This is a straight read on the 2026 price, what moves it, and the step most guides skip: working out whether the lintel is the problem in the first place.
The short answer
Figures below were checked on 1 October 2026 against Book A Builder UK’s 2026 lintel cost guide and Home Repair Guide’s 2026 UK guide, then compared with Ilkley Brickwork’s published pricing for brick-faced work. The first two agree closely at the low end and differ more on large and awkward openings. Checkatrade and MyBuilder both block automated access, so I haven’t relied on them. As with most trades in this series, Kent, Sussex, Surrey and London trend above national figures.
| Job | Typical cost (2026) | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| Standard window or door opening | £750–£1,800 | Propping, new lintel, rebuild of the brickwork over it; ground floor, easy access |
| Upper floor or restricted access | Add £400–£1,200 | Scaffold or access platform on top of the job price |
| Bay, wide opening or garage door | £1,800–£3,500+ | Longer span, heavier lintel, more propping and a longer job |
| Engineer-designed structural work | £2,500–£4,500+ | Calculations, building control involvement and larger beams |
One brickwork contractor’s published figures sit higher still: £2,500–£3,500 including VAT for a straightforward failed brick lintel over a window, and around £6,000 for a double garage. That fits a brick-faced period elevation where the face has to be taken down and matched, which is nearer the top of my range than the middle.
What drives the price
Span and load. A one-metre window head and a four-metre garage opening are different jobs. Wider openings need heavier lintels, more propping and longer on site. Roughly £50–£300 of the bill is the lintel itself; the guides I checked put labour at about £300 to over £1,800.
Access. Upper-floor lintels usually mean scaffolding, which the guides put at £400–£1,200 on its own. I’ve covered how that is priced in scaffolding cost. Interior work adds a premium too, because plaster, decorations and furniture all get in the way.
Propping. The wall above has to be held up while the old lintel comes out. Some firms quote temporary support separately at about £300–£800, and others bury it in the labour line. Ask which.
Making good. Brickwork repair, repointing, plastering and decorating are often the second-biggest line. If the brick is old and needs matching, it costs more; I’ve explained the mortar side in repointing cost.
Engineer and approvals. Where the work changes the opening or the load path, expect calculations, which one guide puts at £150–£300 for the basics and another at £300 to over £1,500 for a full report. What a structural engineer charges, and when a surveyor refers you on, is in structural engineer cost.
Is it actually the lintel?
This is where the money is saved. Lintels do fail, and the failure modes are well known. Older mild steel lintels corrode when they get wet, and rusting steel swells and pushes the brickwork apart. Timber lintels, common in older houses, rot or get attacked by insect larvae. Brick arches and soldier courses often hide a deteriorated timber or steel beam behind them. Concrete lintels can crack if they are overloaded or poorly installed. Too little bearing at the ends is another cause: a lintel with too little seating on either side was never going to last. Alterations that add load, such as a new storey or a removed chimney breast, can also overload one that was fine for decades.
The signs that point to the lintel itself are a horizontal crack directly above the opening, stepped cracks running up from the corners, rust staining on the mortar at the window head, a sagging brick arch, and windows or doors that start sticking. Those are worth taking seriously.
But a crack near a window isn’t a diagnosis. Cracks at the corners and heads of openings also come from thermal movement, shrinkage, shallow foundations moving, and tired pointing, none of which a new lintel will fix. Where the cause is foundation movement, you are into the territory covered in underpinning cost, and a new lintel just moves the crack. Where the wall is a cavity wall, corroded ties can mimic lintel problems, which is a separate repair covered in wall tie replacement cost.
The sensible order is: look, then monitor, then repair. A surveyor can usually tell from crack pattern, building age and lintel type whether the lintel is the suspect, and may recommend opening up the internal finishes or getting an engineer in before anyone orders steel. A tell-tale crack monitor across the crack for a few weeks tells you whether it’s still live. A borescope or a small inspection hole above the opening shows what is actually carrying the wall. If a roofer or builder tells you over the phone that you “need a new lintel” before anyone has looked at it, get a second opinion.
What I’d watch for in a quote
- A named lintel type and size. Modern work normally means a galvanised or stainless steel lintel or a proprietary insulated cavity lintel, sized for the span and the load above it.
- Propping shown as a line item, so you know the wall above is supported while the old lintel is out.
- Scaffold priced separately and clearly included or excluded.
- Making good itemised: brickwork, repointing, internal plaster and decoration are different jobs with different prices.
- A straight answer on building control and an engineer. If the contractor says neither is needed for a structural opening, ask them to put that in writing.
- Waste removal included. Old lintel, rubble and plaster all have to go somewhere.
- No pressure to sign on the day, particularly from a firm that found the “problem” during a free inspection for something else.
Questions I get asked
How much does it cost to replace a lintel? In 2026, expect roughly £750–£1,800 for a standard window or door opening, £1,800–£3,500 for a bay or wide opening, and £2,500–£4,500 or more where an engineer has to design the work. Upper-floor access can add £400–£1,200 for scaffolding. The lintel itself is a minor part of the bill, at roughly £50–£300; most of the cost is propping, labour and making good the brickwork.
Is a crack above a window always a failed lintel? No. Cracks at window corners and heads also come from thermal movement, shrinkage, settlement and failed pointing. The signs that point to the lintel are a horizontal crack directly above the opening, stepped cracks running up from the corners, rust staining on the mortar, sagging brickwork and windows or doors that have started to stick. Fitting a crack monitor for a few weeks tells you whether anything is still moving before you pay for a repair.
Do I need building control or a structural engineer to replace a lintel? Often, yes, for part of it. The guides I checked say approval is typically needed where the work alters a structural opening, changes the load path or replaces an inadequate lintel under Part A of the Building Regulations. A straight like-for-like swap is a grey area, so ask your local building control team or an engineer before the scaffold goes up. An engineer's basic calculations are often quoted at £150–£300.
How long does lintel replacement take? A single lintel is usually a day's work, an external wall one to two days, and a wide opening two to three days, with plastering and decorating afterwards. The wall has to be propped while the old lintel comes out, so it is not a job to rush or to leave half-finished overnight.
If you have a crack above a window and want an independent view on whether it’s the lintel, old movement or something else, before anyone props the wall, that’s what my building survey work is for. If you’re buying and a survey has flagged one, the house survey cost guide covers what each level of report looks at. Call 07946 618203 or get in touch and I’ll give you a straight answer before you spend the money.
Small print. This guide is general information, not advice on a specific property, and it doesn’t replace a proper survey and quote for your own home. Prices were researched and correct to the best of my knowledge on 1 October 2026; costs move and vary by region and property. Always get at least three written quotes.